Unison: The menopause is a workplace issue - guidance and model policy

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The menopause is a workplace issue: guidance and model policy
Some branches have run a women’s health
day which highlights a range of issues that can
affect women in the workplace, not only the
menopause. You can also put up leaflets on
the issue on the UNISON notice-board.
Having more women safety representatives or
stewards also helps. Safety representatives
also have a role in ensuring that risk
assessments take into account any potential
health needs of workers who are experiencing
the menopause.
Norfolk and Suffolk Police are an example
of a workplace that uses a ‘Menopause
Passport’. This one-page document can be
used by a member of staff to identify her own
symptoms/experiences with the menopause
in order to help her to feel more comfortable
at work, request reasonable adjustments or to
inform her line manager of the symptoms. It is
presented as an option for women who find
it difficult or embarrassing to talk about their
menopause symptoms with their line manager.
The document can be emailed or brought to
a meeting, and is particularly useful if ‘hotdesking’.
More case studies
Inspired by the launch of the Wales TUC
Menopause Toolkit (www.tuc.org.uk/sites/
default/files/Menopause%20toolkit%20
Eng%20FINAL.pdf), regional organiser, Darron
Dupre has encouraged Velindre University NHS
Trust – where 75% of staff are female, and
60% of staff are women between the ages of
35 and 60 – to become a menopause aware
and supportive employer.
“Our approach has been that whilst policies are
great,” explains Darron, “it needs real focussed
hard work to create a menopause aware and
supportive employer. So we have worked, in
partnership, on a specific training programme
for all managers, a tailored guide for every
manager on how to support staff going
through the menopause, volunteer menopause
buddies across the organisation who are but
a phone call away, and we are working on
short workshops for every member of staff to
understand the menopause.
But the glue that has held our innovative
approach together has been the menopause
café, a safe, confidential space, free of all
information and marketing, for women and
men to just talk about menopause and their
menopause experience.
For men like me, this is the thing: a menopause
aware and supportive workplace is a great
place for women. But it is almost certainly a
kind, supportive and caring workplace for men
to work in too... this is not a ‘women’s issue’ it
is a workplace justice issue.”
UNISON South East has been running a
menopause awareness lunchtime workshop in
workplaces across the region. Fiona Roberts,
the region’s women’s officer, delivered the
workshop to delegates at the 2019 national
women’s conference where it was one of the
best attended sessions.
Suzanne Tipping, one of the officers
who delivered the workshop reports that
“employers have been really positive about us
running these courses: quite a few employers
hadn’t considered menopause a workplace
issue and didn’t know what resources are
available so they are very interested in what we
have to offer.
Now we’re starting to talk to employers about
developing policy around the menopause so
they can support women in their workplaces
so they can talk more openly about the issues
and reduce the stigma.”
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